An example of a flexible flat cable (including a flexible printed circuit (called an FPC) cable) is a ZIF (zero insertion force)-FPC connector or a connector disclosed in Utility Model Laid-open Japanese Publication 6-88083 (1994).
For the first connector, after the attachment of a cable a lever must be rotated in order for a cable electrode (or a conductive contact) to make contact with the contact of the connector, and special equipment is required to automate the job of assembling the cable and the connector.
To eliminate the above problem, according to a method employed for the second connector, whereby a reinforcement plate (a cover) is attached to the surface of a cable and the cable with the reinforcement plate is directly assembled with the connector, the reinforcement plate engages a guide formed on the connector during the assembly of the cable and the connector to thereby position the cable correctly.
However, a process for attaching the reinforcement plate to the surface of the cable can be required before the cable is assembled with the connector, and high accuracy is required for the attachment, especially for a connector whose contacts are arranged at a short pitch, so that strict control of the sizes of the parts must be exercised.